Electric heater



May 20, 1924 W. W. WEIR ELECTRIC HEATER `Filed lApril 11, 1923 N aff/v To@ M24/bm W Wel?? Fll.

.4 HTT/VEKSZ Patented May 2o, 1924.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM W. WEIR, OF ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA.

ELECTRIC HEATER.

Application med April 11, 1923. Serial No. 631,395.

To all whom, tmag/ concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. Wma,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Alameda, county of Alameda, and State I of California, have invented a certain new and useful Electric Heater, of which 'the ollowing is a specification. 'l

The invention vrelates to electric heaters and particularly to that type of heater known as 1the lire place heater and to portable heaters.

An. object of the invention is to provide an electric heater of simple and rugged construction which operates to transmit heat l' by radiation and convection. Another object of the invention is to provide a core or support for the heating element which is adapted to cause radiation of the major ortion of the heat generated.

Anot er object of the invention is to pro vide a core having means therein for distributing heat stored therein, by convection.

AA further object of the invention is to pro vide an electric heater in which the heating element contacts with its support at small areas only, so that the major portion of the heat is distributed by radiation.

The invention l possesses j other advantageous features, some of which with the fore ing, will be set forthat length in the ollowin description,` where I shall outline in full, t at ormof my invention which I have selected!` for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the resent specification. In said drawings l liave shown one form of heater lembodying my invention, but it is to be understood that Ido not limit myself to such form, since the inventiomas set forth in the claims, may be embodied in a plurality of forms.

Referrin to said drawings Figure 1 1s a front elevation of a fire place type of heater embed ing my invention.

ig. 2 is a cross section of the heater taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fi 3 is a cross section of the core or tile on w ich the heating elements are arranged.

F' 4 is a detail of the front face of the tile owing a heating coil disposed in a 5 groove therein.

M invention is particularly applicable to the e place type `of electric heater in which the maior portion of the heat generated is conduction. The heater is therefore eilective almost immediately after the circuit is closed.

The heater shown in the accompanying drawings comprises a casing 2, of suitable form, the casing, in the present instance, being designed to simulate andirons. The casing is provided with a bottom wall 3, upon which 1s supported a hollow tile or brick 4 of refraotor material. The tile comprises a front wal 5, which is preferably bowed outward, a rear wall o, which is spaced from the front wall and cross walls 7 connectin the front wall and the rear wall and provi ing, within "the tile, a plurality of vertically extending tlues 8, to permit the passage of air through the tile. The heating elements are arranged on the iront face of the tile and the heat, which is transferred to the front face by conduction, is transmitted 'throu h the walls 7 'to the wall 6, thereby provi' ing a large heated surface from which heat is readily transferred to the air column in the lues 8, so that a draft of air is induced through the dues 8. The bottom wall 3 is provided with apertures 9, opening into the lues 8, so that streams of warmed air rise through the 'lines 8 when the heater is in operation. The tile is provided, on its iront face, with a plurality ot grooves 12 in which the heatin coils 13 are arranged. These grooves pre erahly extend horizontally across the front face o the tile and the grooves are inclined downwardly and haclrwardly, 'that is, the bottom and to walls 14 and 15 of the grooves are incline downwardly and baclxwardly. The groove is narrowed toward its hase 16 and the heating coil 13 is of such diameter that, when the coil is disposed in the groove, 1t contacts with the iront wall 14 below the u per edge thereof and with the rear wall 15 a ve the base thereof and does not contact with 1. the base 16; This results in only a small made of a white clay composition which 1s highly refractory and-which possessesheat reflecting qualitles, so that the heat, rad1- ated fronrthe coil against the face of the tile, is-relected outward. The upper wall 1 5 of the groove acts as a reflector and is so shaped that the major portion of 'the heat rays, striking such wall, wardly.

The tile is arranged in the casing 2, 'in spaced relation to the rear wall 17 of the casing so that a flue is provided between the rear wall 6 of the tile and the rear wall 17 of the Vcasing and the bottom plate 3 is provided with apertures 18 to permit the entry of air into this Hue. rllhe tile is preferably rounded on its upper rear edge to provide a smooth path of egress for thev air rising through this flue. The upper portion of the casing is closed by an apertured trmplate 19 which extends from the upper forward ed e of the tile to the upper edge of the back wa l and the hot air rising thro h the dues in the tile and the due behind t e tile discharges into the room through the apertures in the trim-plate.

A. separate heating element, or coil of resistance wire 13, is preferably disposed in each groove and the ends of the coil extend backward through apertures inthe tile and are connected on the rear of the tile to busbars 21 or other forms of'terminals and these terminals are suitabl connected to the current supply wires. making each. coil individual and arranging them in parallel, there is substantially no voltage drop between the adjacent points of adjacent coils. Further, should one coil burn out, it may be readily removed and anew coil inserted in its place.

l claim:

1. An electric heater comprising a hollow tile of refractory material having vertically disposed passages extending therethrough and a' heating element arranged on the front tace of the tile..

2. An electric heater comprising a hollow tile of refractory material having vertically .disosed passages extending therethrough and having grooves on its front face and heating elements disposed in said grooves.

3. Ain electric. heater comprising a hollow tile of refractory material having vertically vdisposed. passages extending therethrough' an having horizontal grooves on its front tace and heating elents disposed in the are reflected for-` v Y' r of refractory material, a plurality of horlextending from the bottom to the top of said tile and electric heating elements disposed on said' front wall.

5. An electric heater comprising a hollow tile of refractory material having fiues extending therethrough, horizontal ridges on the front face of the tile and heating coils disposed on said ridges and partly concealed thereby.

6.v An electric heater comprising a. tile zontal ridges on the front face of the tile and heating coils disposed on said ridges and partly concealed thereby.

7. Anelectric heater comprising a tile of refractory material having grooves across its front face and heating coils disposed in the grooves, the grooves being narrowed toward their bases whereby the heating coils are held from contact with. the bases.

8. An electric `heater comprising a ltile of refractory material having grooves across its front face, the groove extending downwardly and backwardly and being of decreasing height backwardly and heating.

coils disposed in the grooves and contacting with the top and bottom walls thereof and spaced from the bottoms of said grooves.

9. ln an electric heater a support pf refractory material having a groove in its front face, the upper and lower walls of the groove being inclined downwardly and backwardly ,and a heating coil disposed in the groove and bearing against the lower wall below the upper edge thereof and contacting with the upper wall above the bottom thereof, the coil being out'of contact with the base of the groove.

10. In an electric heater, a base, a hollow tile of refractory material disposed on said base and having iues extendin therethrough, said base being provided wlth apertures openin into said nues and heating coils arranged on'the front tace of said tile. 11. In an electric heater, a casing, a back wall on said casing, a hollow tile of refractory material having flues extendin therethrough arranged in said casing lo? s aoed from said back wall and heating coi s arranged on the front Jtace of said tile.

12. ln an electric heater, a casing, a back wall oni-said casing, a hollow tile of refractory material having tiues extendin therethrough arranged in said casing an spaced from said back wall, heating coils arranged on the front face of said tile and an apertured trim-plate extending between the top rof thetile and the top of the bach wall.

13. In an electric heater, a casin a back wall on said casing,

an aperture bottom Wall in Said casing, a hollow tile of refractory material having flues extending theretom Wall opening in to said ues and into the space between the tile and the back wall, heating coils arranged on 'the front face of the tile and an apertured trim-plate closing 10 the top of the casing.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

- WILLIAM W. WEIR. 

